Under-fire Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists the woeful recent form which has all but eliminated his side from title contention has not broken the spirit of the squad.

The Blues slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Wolves last night to make it one win from their last nine Barclays Premier League games - their worst run since the 1995-96 season.

A miserable haul of 10 points from their last 11 outings has dropped Ancelotti's side nine points behind leaders Manchester United, having played a game more, and they face a fight to secure even a top-four place.

That run of results has called Ancelotti's position into question.

He insisted after the match he did not fear the sack from owner Roman Abramovich, but anything other than a win at home to Ipswich in the FA Cup third round on Sunday could make the pressure on him almost unbearable.

The former AC Milan boss, though, has urged his players not to lose confidence.

"The players are focused. They are working hard. They are staying together," he said.

"There are no problems (in the squad) - they have a good spirit.

"There are a lot of reasons that can explain this moment, but that doesn't matter.

"Now we have to look forward, to the next game. We have to prepare well and we have above all to maintain confidence at this moment.

"It's very easy now to lose confidence."

He added in an interview with Chelsea TV: "I think that on the training ground everything is okay. The players are working hard. They are angry and they want to move on quickly from this moment.

"I think that to move on quickly from this moment we have stay compact together. Not just the players, not just the manager, not just the staff - also all the people that are involved with this club with emotion with passion can do something to move on quickly from this moment."

The strength in depth of the Blues' squad has been called into question, most notably last month by their own captain John Terry.

Ancelotti revealed there were "some opportunities" for him to bring in reinforcements in the transfer window, but was reluctant to elaborate further.

"Looking for the transfer market there are some opportunities we can do something," he said. "But I think it's private and confidential.

"The line-up (against Wolves) was very good. At this moment we have to stay focused on the details."